www.clanlivingstone.info

Malcolm Livingstone stands out as the earliest known "highland Livingstone" to settle in Nova Scotia directly from Argyllshire, Scotland though there seems to have been one or two individuals named Livingston as early as the 1760's prior to the American Revolution and a few American Loyalists named Livingston who arrived in the 1780's. Regretably there are but bits and pieces of information regarding Malcolm and his family but perhaps one can make some sense of it all by piecing together what we do know.

It is stated in his 1792 Nova Scotia Land Petition that Malcolm Livingstone was a highland Livingstone origin according to one source having resided at Ardgour which is in the County of Argyllshire near both Morvern and Northern Ballachulish and reasonably close to Lochaber and Fort William in the neighbouring Inverness area. Early land records suggest his wife may have been named Mary. Another source however indicates that Malcolm and his wife Kate Macphee originated in the Lochaber region of Scotland in the Western Argyll/Inverness area where Fort William is situated. Interestingly both accounts seem to agree with the general locality in the highlands where Malcolm seems to have originated. Regretably the parish records for the Ardgour area do not commence until the 1830's and it is of course not certain that Malcolm was actually born in the Ardgour or Lochaber district of Western Argyllshire just that was likely living there at the time he left for Nova Scotia. The 1792 Petition of Malcolm Livington of Pictou County, Nova Scotia also importantly notes that Malcolm and nine members of his family arrived in Merogomish, Pictou County, Nova Scotia in September 1791. Most importantly it identifies 1791 as the year of his arrival in Pictou County and Nova Scotia. A subsequent 1794Tax record states that Malcolm Livingston Sr. is residing at Little Harbour, Pictou County which I understand is in the Merogomish vicinity.

One source states he was one of the Scottish colonists brought over in the year 1792 by Simon Fraser who was infact a son of one Lieutenant John Fraser of the 82nd British Regiment but it is clear from the petition Malcolm Livingston actually arrived in 1791 rather than 1792.Historian Colin MacDonald in 1932 suggested to the Nova Scotia Historical Society that two ships, one probably the "Dunkeld" in the Summer of 1791 brought a large number of highland settlers from the Hebrides to Pictou, Nova Scotia with many of them ending up in neighbouring ANtigonish County. Perhaps significantly No other ships are mentioned for Pictou area settlers for the year 1791. It seem probable that Malcolm Livingston and his family was one of these 1791 arrivals. Malcolm however may have settled however on John Fraser's land in the Merigomish area around this time or one his fellow soldiers who received land in the 1780's. This John Fraser in the year 1785 received 700 acres at Merigomish in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. The 82nd Regiment participated in the Revolutionary War in America and also ended up in Halifax, Nova Scotia where they were disbanded in 1783. Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and inlisted men received land grants in Pictou County and there grants became referred to in Nova Scotia as the 82nd Grants. Scattered settlements sprung up as scottish settlers ended up on original land grants of the 82nd regiment. There is no information to suggest that Malcolm Livingstone served with the 82nd and from what I can tell he was one probably as stated one of highland settlers encouraged to settle in Nova Scotia after the 82nd regiment had received their grants and began clearing the land for settlement.

Later 1810 Malcolm Livingston or Livingstone yeoman received a land grant in the Cape George, ANtigonish County area along with sons Allan and John. By 1814 Malcolm is apparently deceased and his widow Mary Livingston and sons Allan,John,Angus,Colin and Duncan together receive grants and are among the early settlers located on the south side of Cape George in Antigonish County. Livingstone Cove near Cape George is named after this Livingstone family. Nearby was David Ballantyne for whom Ballantyne Cove is named. In addition to his own 500 acre grant he acquired land from his neighbours including Malcolm's son Allen Livington and eventually possessed most of the south side of Cape George. A former soldier in the 82nd Regiment, Ballantyne also had first settled at Merigomish but later received land from the Crown along the shoreline of Cape George. The Livingstons, Campbells and Ballantynes resided in what became known as Arisaig Township. The early census records also seems to indicate another original Livingston family residing in Arisaig Township besides Malcolm's sons in the early 1800's. I actually noticed this a few years ago in a later census that included residents of Arisaig Township. I wondered then if there was not one other additional Livingstone family besides that of Malcolm's that settled in the area.

Family of Malcolm Livingstone who was b.1750's ? in Argyllshire Scotland died between 1810-1814 Cape George,Antigonish Cty. N.S.
Widow Mary Livingstone grantee Cape George South side 1814
John Livingstone 1777- April 16,1821 grantee Cape George South Side 1814
Angus Livingstone grantee Cape George South Side 1814
Allan Livingstone 1778- Aug.1,1863 grantee Cape George South Side 1814 (In 1809 received land at Merogomish,Pictou County)
(Allan states in 1809 record that he arrived in Nova Scotia 18 years earlier (1791)
Colin Livingstone grantee Cape George South Side 1814
Duncan Livingstone grantee Cape George South Side 1814
Janet Livingstone (1785-1885?) married John Campbell (1785-1849) a Cape George area landowner and son of Col. John Campbell who served in the British Army during the American Revolution. By the 1827 Antigonish County Census in Arisaig Township only the sons Allan and Duncan Livingston remain. John died in 1821. Not clear what happened to Angus and Colin.
Dougald Livingstone receives land grant from John Campbell in 1809 at Cape George, Antigonish County (May also be son of Malcolm)

Hi All,

Malcolm Livingston arrived in September of 1791 with nine members of his family from Highland Scotland according to his 1792 Nova Scotia Land Petition and made his home firstly in Merogomish, Pictou County, Nova Scotia later the province of Nova Scotia, Canada in the 1800's. Some of the details have been discussed earlier but Malcolm was the one of the earliest "documented' Highland Livingstones to settle in Nova Scotia although there were two or three American Loyalists of unknown Scottish ancestry to petition the Crown in Nova Scotia for land in the 1780's and the odd Livingston in the records before that. In past discussions we have discussed Malcolm Livingston. Later in 1810 a few years before death he settled with his wife and sons in Cape George, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. His descendants appear in the later census records of the late 1800's still residing in the Cape George area and the Maclea Livingstone Society would love to hear from any descendants of this Pioneer Highland Livingstone Nova Scotia Family.

regards,

Donald (Livingstone) Clink
Historian
Clan Maclea Livingstone Society

Donald and Kyle

You had said recently that you have a family member of Alexander from Whycocomagh that has joined the DNA project. How closely do the results of the testing show Alexander's descendents are related to other early Livingstone's in Nova Scotia? Do you have a family member from Angus' family that has done the test? I know the Livingstone family that lived in lot 54 here on PEI, John Livingston, was from Fort William as well. I wish we could find a family member from this family that would be willing to do the test too. Maybe after this summer I will start doing intensive research on this family. I can't help but wonder if this John Livingston may have been the mysterious, never proven existed, brother of Malcolm and John. I need to find a family member from this family.

Barry

Hi Barry,

if by Angus Livingson you meant a descendant of Angus Livingston b.1773 the Napoleonic War Veteran from the Vessel King George that settled around 1819 at Boulderie, Bras d'or Victoria County, Cape Breton the answer is not yet. The good news is that are definitely Livingston descendants of Angus and Bras d'or Livingstons. Just of matter of locating one who would be interested in this aspect of the genealogy project. While there is no definite info on Angus Livingston's Argyllshire origins but the fact that he named his land grant at Bras d'or "Kilninian" I think strongly suggests that his origins were in one of the villages in Kilninian Parish, Mull. This is precisely why I have trying for the last few years a Cape Breton/PEI Livingston group together whose goals would include contacting those Cape Breton Livingstons and other Maritime Livingstons who have already expressed some interest in their Cape Breton family history and who would benefit from working with Maclea Livingstone Society.

I think your wondering whether some of these Livingstons that settled in Cape Breton were brothers. That is an old story that was apparently told long ago but I am not sure whether it is true or not. There is my oppinion no chance that you or I can ever prove it with no documentation available. In any event the DNA Project can eventually best help to answer that question or least to indicate some probable family connection at some point in time distant or no so distant. What I can tell you is that while many of them were not closely related or of the same family, many I think you will find do share one thing in common: they originated from Kilninian Parish, Mull and indeed the DNA results may show that some of these Mull Livingstons that settled at Cape Breton while not closely related perhaps share a more distant ancestor some centuries earlier in Argyllshire.

I am optimistic and patient that eventually descendants of the other pioneer Livingstons of Nova Scotia and PEI will participate in the Project. Mean time if we succeed in getting a descendant of your gg. grandfather Colin Livingston to participate we will at least be able to determine if Alexander Livington of Whycocomagh and your Colin are related. Then if we could find a descendant of John Livingston Jr. and old Kate Livingston of neighbouring Mull River/Mabou Livingtons then we could determine whehter the notion I have that all three are sons of pioneers John Livingston and Catharine Campbell of Penmore, Kilninian Parish, Mull who left Mull in 1821. Their immediate destination according to the Mull documentation was the Nova Scotia Port of Pictou. After that they would have made arrangements for land settlement. Dr. St. Clair believes and the Nova Scotia Petition informatoin suggests that this John Livingston who arrived in 1821 and later ended up at Mull River/Mabou in Inverness County never did petition the Crown for land as for example the John Livingston who received land at Judique River, Inverness County, did. Instead Dr. St. Clair thought perhaps that John Livingston and Catharine Campbell were initially squatters on the land in 1824 and I guess eventually laid claim to it. If there were early land records pertaining to this land at Mull River/Mabou Dr. St. Clair had never come across them. I dont know that there any early land records petaining to early land ownership of Whycocomagh either so I dont know the history of Alexander Livingston and his wife Ann and family on that lot prior to 1871. The 1861 Census is not very detailed and not too helpful and unfortunately there are no detailed census records before then for the Mabou/Mull River area/Whycocomagh area. So to the large degree we are in the dark about the early settlement of the Mull RIver/Whycocomagh families and whether they are one and the same. But that what the DNA Project is for.

No doubt there are many highlanders whose family made note that they left Scotland at Fort William,Inverness. I have studied a list of passenger ships of highlanders ending up in Nova Scotia and many of them departed for Nova Scotia via Fort William and Tobermory as well. Some of the Mull Livingstons we know came to PEI and Nova Scotia by boats departing from Tobermory which makes sense as Tobermory was located in Mull, but it may well be that Argyllshire Livingstons boarded ships at nearby Fort William, Inverness making the journey there because passage on board the ship was convenient and available when they wanted to depart fro Nova Scotia. As there werent alot of Livingstons residing at Fort William in the early 1800's and it was not an origin point for Clan Livingston, I suspect that the Livingstons that are being referred to as being from Fort William in the early Pioneer Livingston arrivals in Nova Scotia and PEi were really from somewhere in Argyllshire for the most part. At least one of these is current in the DNA Project and the results show a probable ancestral connection to other Livingstone of Mull origin. The results also tell us that Alexander Livingston of Whycocomagh has as alrealdy stated in his old family info I mentioned a strong likelihood of being Mull Livingston family origin. Now it is just a matter of seeing where your Colin fits in all this. If we can reach that stage then we definitely can say we are making progress in your family research. I have never given up hope that we would somehow be able to connect your Colin with ALexander Livingston's family though it did look like was not going to happen anytime soon. Now we have a good chance of finding out one way or another. Again we are pretty certain that Scott's ancestral line to Alexander Livingston of Whycocomagh is definite based upon verifable, documented information so everything appear accurate in that respect.

regards,

Donald